Plastic Ocean 4, stitched sky WIP
I have taken a little heat lately for my creative zest! I was going to say over-exuberance but that is really a judgment call. I seriously do not mind feeling over-exuberant about my work at all. I relish the time when the muse is in the house and ready to get at it. For I know the fallow time will come.
The creative muse is much like the aging gene. It is important to honor it, show it respect, celebrate and thrive within it, because in all likelihood it will not last forever! And as another artist recently said, the more we create, the more prolific we become. I can think of a whole lot of worse things than being prolifically creative!
That said, I continue to design work about the plastic garbage in the ocean. I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with my own consumption of plastic, which in reality is probably a good thing. After all, half of making any change is the acknowledgement of the problem. Several people have commented that my talking about this has engaged them to think about their own consumption. Just like my morning walk photo collages on social media inspire others to notice their surroundings when they are out walking. I love that!
And I have also heard it said that I am starting a trend with this work. I find that rather humorous as I have never seen myself as a trendsetter! My kid is the trendsetter in this family.
Nearly 20 years ago when I began this phase of my life, otherwise known as retirement, my gut instinct was to make work that ‘said’ something. Someone then told me nobody wanted to see that! I let one person’s opinion lead me into years of making ‘pretty’ art quilts. Until…I began the Tall Girl Series!
Plastic Ocean, WIP, 3-D
Now, nearly two decades later, I still feel this great calling for telling stories. Now, I don’t care if people don’t want to see it! That is their issue. Those who do, will, and might even think about how they too can enact change.
This works for me in so many ways because I can make my voice known without stressing my body, by marching down the street. I have after all become an artivist!
I continue to be amazed at your ability to tell the stories that must be told. I find the oceans works to be troubling to my conscience on plastic dependency.
How do you begin to create these works? Where is it at in you?
Judith, thank you! I too am so disturbed anout the trash in our oceans. It has made me more aware of my own consumption, and of litter in general. To how I begin to create these works, I am reminded of a quote by my late great art friend, Miriam Nathan-Roberts…just start! She would say, when you don’t know where to begin, just start! Most of my art fermented in my brain for awhile and the. i just start!